IS IT GETTING ANY BETTER?

Some six months after Jr. declared the major fighting done in Iraq, how has life improved for the Iraqi people? Clearly, safety and security are huge concerns. But for an average Iraqi, I'm imagining that it's the little things that cease to be little and that can define a life as currently being better or worse. Is the electricity on and working? Are the schools open and providing an education to those who need it most? Are the roads passable and safe? Is there a recognizable justice system in place? How about water treatment plants? After Saddam, has it really gotten and better?

The arguments that our esteemed President offered for attacking Iraq were many. There were the weapons of mass destruction, of course, but let's leave that thorny little issue to another post. One of the main arguments we heard over and over again was that we're attacking Iraq to relieve the Iraqi people of the despotic rule of Saddam Hussein, who ruled Iraq with a cruel and vicious dictatorship. No one questions whether his country and its people suffered while he and his family built opulent palaces.

And so it was assumed by many that the removal of Hussein and the toppling of his regime would improve the living conditions for most Iraqis. But as we have all seen and heard over the last several months, life after this 'war' is messy and unpredictable, and that's all that we're really told. What seems to get lost amongst the focus placed on the continued downing of our troops is the day-to-day condition of Iraqi lives. Has it really been worth it? How much longer must the world and the average Iraqi citizen wait before seeing the results of this relief we set out to provide? What's a realistic amount of time?

Mikal, are you in an especially ornery mood this week. You are really stirring things up with your commentary. Oh, dear! Oh, my, making people think!!! What will be next?
Okay, so you asked, IMHO, I don't think Jr. exaggerated the inhumanity and living conditions there. The fact that there is still all of this going on pretty much illustrates it. Maybe they shouldn't have scaled down as soon as they did. If you read between the lines, there has been a lot of good. If you read the comments from soldiers who have returned, you hear how the people appreciate them being there and their help. Our press in this country is a negative press. They live off of bad news. They surround us with negativity. What hasn't somebody done for you lately. What is being taken from you. Not how blessed we are. How can we make this world, this country, this state, this neighborhood a better place. But I digress....as I always do. I think major change takes time in the best of circumstances, and these are not the best.

IMO, concern for the living conditions in Iraq was always a red herring to distract the American people from the real reasons we were in this war to begin with. It's easier to justify killing a lot of people and spending a bunch of money if you can attach an altruistic purpose to it. Now America is getting impatient to see the fruits of our labor in Iraq? That's not impatience. That's our collective guilt setting in.

Cindra makes a great point. Actually one that will fall on deaf ears with this crowd I'm sure. So I'll spoon feed it to you. Today's media isn't about providing the facts. They are all about the ratings, period. How many positive stories do we hear? Do you really think nothing positive is going on over there?

There is no question it is and will get better in Iraq. The proof lies in the many, many stories our military personel tell about how Iraqis are coming up to them by the hundreds with flowers in hand and greeting/kisses on their lips. And don't forget about all those people/kids in "jail" (for nothing more then not supporting Saddam's regime). I guarantee if you ask one of them this question you would get the real answer to why we had to go over there and do something to help these people and provide us with a safe future. So the question I have for all of you is this, would you stand up and do something if people/kids needed your help or would you bury your head in the sand and pretend everything was fine? Deep down I hope we all come to the same conclusion to help ... so why question it?

Sit down with a Vietnam Vet one day and ask him/her "Was it worth it?" Experience is always the best teacher.

Billy,

If human rights violations were a deciding factor in going to war in Iraq, then why didn't we intervene in Afghanistan much sooner? Saints we ain't. As a country, we bury our heads in the sand a whole lot.

Christina, having lived through that era, I can assure you that this is not a Vietnam. Vietnam was no threat to us in any way. It was a pointless war, with, unfortunately, no support for our service men. If we have learned anything from that war, it is to honor and respect our Armed Services for their dedication and bravery. I lost friends in Vietnam and had friends come back that were never the same, but those that are here would tell you it isn't the same. It make 20 years for us to be able to look back and see the real truth here, but, who knows, it's been 20 years and we still don't know who killed JFK, or Marilyn. Can't wait to see what Mikal stirs up tomorrow.

Cindra, I respect the point you are coming from.

I, however, am a military child. My entire life has had strong connection to the military and still does. I know the soldiers personally. I too know many Vietnam Vets personally. I know their families. I know the new soldiers families. I know them face to face. I also know the majority of them are NOT coming back sounding praises of glory for the mission but are coming back unsure of the entire event. Many of them that have come back really don't understand the entire event. They are just happy to be back with their families. Many will question it years to come down the road just as many of the Desert Storm Vets I personally know questioned the first "Iraq War".

P.S. It still cracks me up - all of the "Pro Bush and his War" people were touting "Weapons of Mass Destruction, Weapons of Mass Destruction" just last April. Now their battle cry is "Humanity of the Iraqi people".

If you are now all so concerned with HUMANITY, then flippin go downtown to Wheeler Mission and FEED some Vietnam Vets who are hungry on our Indianapolis streets.

I ran across the following post this morning and thought it would be good to share here.

This is from James Barry, and it's available at the following site, as the Oct. 27 post:

http://www.mattholzmann.net/front/

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What are we doing in Iraq?

I was reminded of this during a speech President Bush gave recently. Both the Japanese and the German governments in the middle of the 20th century had become military opressive regimes and the US beat them in WWII and put into action new democratic governments. Since then, two of our staunchest allies have been Japan and Germany. They also have been two of our biggest trade partners. I am not using the term "productive" countries because that goes down a world of consumerism that I am not interested in debating at this time. However, it is clear that when members of the international community (ie Germany and Japan) are economically vested in the international community, peace seems to be a possible outcome. Once I got present to that, I got a whole lot more sympathy for what we are building in Iraq. Perhaps an economically integrated, peacful Iraq will be the access to peace in the middle east (when I say economically integrated, I mean more than simply oil). Also note that nation building in Germany and Japan did not come easy nor did it come peacfully all the time. We are fed pictures of a war torn Iraq with the speed that those in the 1950s did not have. - James Barry

The basic issue here is the repositioning of US foreign policy to a pre-emptive military action. This is the real concern about this administration. Human rights (domestic or international) have never been a high priority for modern Republicans - their inactions and lack of even feeble political rhetoric are self-evident in places like Tianenman Square, Nepal, China, even Kosovo, and pre-9/11 Afghanistan.